Chapter 1025 Reputation Damaged
Kevin nodded, grateful that Nia had reminded him earlier. Otherwise, he would have made a fool of himself in front of Lucia and Arthur. "So how should we handle this? This is either aimed at Lucia or us. It wouldn't be hard to investigate," Nia said as she took Kevin's arm. "No, we won't do anything," Kevin replied with a cold laugh after regaining his composure.
"Huh? We won't do anything?" Nia didn't understand what Kevin meant by that.
Kevin leaned in close to Nia's ear and whispered, "We were just worrying about how to take Stable Growth back from Lucia before. Now these workers' strike has helped us out. Once things get out of hand for Lucia and she can no longer manage Stable Growth, she'll have no choice but to give it up. Unlike her, we don't care about our reputation so much. Even if we take over the company again, we can ignore those workers' demands and let them continue their strike. That way, taking back Stable Growth will be effortless."
"You're right!" Nia exclaimed excitedly. "I didn't think of that earlier! No wonder you tried to avoid talking about it in front of Lucia."
"You silly girl," Kevin said affectionately as he kissed her cheek lightly. "I know what you're thinking even when you don't."
So far in her life experience with men, only Kevin was the most gentle and understanding one towards her needs and wants; being loved like this by him made Nia feel spoiled as she snuggled into his embrace while giggling,
"Let's pretend like we're doing something then. If Lucia comes looking for me, I'll make an excuse not to meet with her again since they are the ones who are desperate, not us."
"That's perfect!" Kevin was equally pleased with their plan as they left Webbex Group together while passing through the crowd of striking workers; both wishing secretly for them to cause more chaos than necessary.
Lucia's offices located on top floor where she was overlooking downtown city view..
"Lucia, I will investigate this matter quickly," Arthur came up behind Lucia holding onto her hand reassuringly and knowing full well that sending off Nia and Kevin wasn't going solve any problems but rather create more trouble instead.
"Webbex Group has never suffered any loss or damage during my grandfather's or father's time running it," Lucia spoke softly almost whispering under breath. It was filled with guilt towards herself for letting things go wrong under watchful eyes.Owned by NôvelDrama.Org.
"I'll control public opinion," Arthur understood Lucia's emotions but also knew there was no point hiding from reality. "But..."
"I know this kind of thing always attracts attention. They're gathered at the company's doorstep today. If someone is really manipulating things behind the scenes, the media must have caught wind of it by now. It's my fault that Webbex Group has been smeared," Lucia said, her eyes turning red as she spoke.
"The matter hasn't been concluded yet, so don't use words like 'smeared' lightly. I won't let something like this happen," Arthur comforted her.
Lucia looked at Arthur with clear eyes and a hint of tears in them, but she held back her worries and didn't let the tears fall. She wasn't that weak.
Arthur felt even more heartbroken when he saw Lucia like this. He hugged her silently to give her comfort, but just as he was consoling her for a moment, he caught sight of some activity downstairs and his movements paused momentarily. Lucia immediately sensed that something was wrong and turned to look downstairs.
Several cars carrying journalists were parked on the side of the road in front of Webbex Group's gate, and they started interviewing workers as soon as they got out of their cars. Seeing this scene made deep furrows appear between Lucia's eyebrows; she knew that this matter couldn't be kept from the public any longer.
Arthur's gaze became cold; one hand hugged Lucia while he took out his phone with another hand to make a call, "Ronin, some reporters have arrived already; you need to act quickly. Yes. Disperse these people immediately! Find out what happened from those who led them here. Alright then! I'll wait for your message."
After hanging up the phone call, Arthur hugged Lucia again before letting go and saying, "Don't worry; I'm here."
Arthur knew that Lucia was feeling anxious right now about. All these trivial matters being handled by himself would be better for everyone involved in it all anyway. So he left her office and came down to lobby where Kane had also noticed reporters coming over but was hesitating whether or not to send security guards when Arthur arrived there too.
"Kane! Get rid of all those reporters right away! Public relations matters should be done properly. If any one dares report on this issue again, we can trace it back!" Arthur always acted swiftly so he immediately deployed future actions after giving orders.
"Alright!" With Arthur around, Kane didn't hesitate much either so he took security guards outside with him straightaway. Just then Ronin from union also arrived there. Since his identity was different than others, Blake finally agreed temporarily disbanding everyone else before leaving with several leaders following Ronin while Kane drove off journalists. In less than half an hour, everything returned back normal at Webbex Group's entrance.
Lucia watched workers disperse without relaxing even for a moment because she knew things were just beginning.
As Lucia turned around, she saw Arthur and Kane walking in together.
"Robin Harrington has taken the leaders back for questioning. I believe we'll soon find out what's going on," Arthur told Lucia.
"Hmm," Lucia's mind was calmer now. She walked back to the sofa and sat down, pondering for a moment before asking, "Arthur, any news from StandHill?"
"You suspect Casper is involved in this too?" Arthur sat down next to Lucia. It seemed he had also suspected this.
"Just a suspicion. After all, there aren't many people who consider us their enemies, and Casper is at the top of that list."
"If it really was Casper behind this, then StandHill should be keeping quiet right now; they wouldn't want to draw attention to themselves." Kane chimed in after sitting down as well. "Keep an eye on them," Lucia said to Kane.
"Don't worry too much about it, Lucia. This isn't our responsibility anyway; Arthur has already asked the union to handle it. If it's just about wages, then we can resolve this easily enough; if there are other motives involved, we'll find out soon enough." Kane tried his best to comfort her.
"I know... but rumors will still spread..." What concerned Lucia most was Webbex Group's reputation.
Kane glanced at Arthur when he heard her words before getting up and leaving - only Arthur could comfort her now.
Arthur stayed by Lucia's side all day long without leaving Webbex Group once - but despite being worried deep inside herself, she wasn't one for negativity or despair. So, she quickly regained her composure upon seeing him stay with her like that instead of working elsewhere. That made her feel slightly embarrassed but she didn't say anything because deep down inside she knew he wouldn't leave anyways.